(Newser)
–
Cops and park officials in Oregon would like to speak to a group of young people captured on video destroying a unique rock formation in the state's stunning Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area. Authorities initially thought the 7-foot sandstone pedestal known as the "Duckbill" had been destroyed by erosion before video surfaced of the youths deliberately toppling the formation, the Oregonian reports. Erosion likely would have eventually doomed the pedestal without the intervention, but authorities say visitors are banned from destroying natural features, and punishment could include $435 citations.

A park visitor tells KATU that he saw the group trying to push the pedestal down. "I kind of laughed to myself cause I thought there was no way that they could knock it down, but then I noticed that it started wobbling and then I started to record it as two of the guys managed to knock it down," he says. "I asked them, you know, why they knocked the rock down, and the reply I got was: Their buddy broke their leg earlier because of that rock," he says. "They basically told me themselves that it was a safety hazard, and that they did the world or Oregon a favor." (Two former Scout leaders in Utah were charged with felonies after knocking over a rock formation in Goblin Valley State Park.)